Breakdown of Η φίλη μου μου έδωσε άλλο ένα κουπόνι, αλλά λέει ότι λήγει αύριο.
Questions & Answers about Η φίλη μου μου έδωσε άλλο ένα κουπόνι, αλλά λέει ότι λήγει αύριο.
They do two different jobs:
- Η φίλη μου = my friend (the first μου shows possession: friend of mine).
- μου έδωσε = gave me (the second μου is an indirect object pronoun: to me). So the sentence literally starts like My friend gave me….
μου is the genitive form of εγώ (I), used in two ways here:
- Genitive of possession: η φίλη μου (my friend)
- Genitive pronoun for the indirect object: μου έδωσε (gave to me) It doesn’t change in this sentence because both uses require the same form (μου). (The full set is εγώ / με / μου depending on function.)
Because φίλη is feminine singular, so it takes:
- feminine article: η (Η at the start of the sentence) Masculine would be ο φίλος μου (my (male) friend), and neuter would be for different nouns.
It’s an irregular aorist:
- Present: δίνω
- Aorist: έδωσα (I gave), έδωσε (he/she/it gave) The έ- is the common past augment in Greek, and the stem changes (διν- → δω-) because the verb is irregular.
In Greek, weak object pronouns (like μου, σου, τον, την) normally come before the verb:
- μου έδωσε = she gave me This is the default, neutral order in statements.
άλλο ένα means another one / one more.
- άλλο = other / another (neuter form)
- ένα = one (neuter form) Greek often uses both together to express one more naturally.
κουπόνι is neuter, and you can see it from:
- the -ι ending (often neuter, though not always)
- the matching forms around it:
- άλλο (neuter)
- ένα (neuter) So the phrase agrees as neuter: άλλο ένα κουπόνι.
Greek often omits the article when you use ένα (a/one) because ένα already functions like an indefinite article:
- άλλο ένα κουπόνι = another coupon / one more coupon You can sometimes see an article in other contexts, but here it’s very natural without one.
Both can mean but, but:
- αλλά is the most common, neutral but
- όμως is closer to however / though and can sound a bit more formal or emphatic In this sentence, αλλά is the straightforward choice.
Greek often uses the present to report what someone says as a current statement or general claim:
- αλλά λέει ότι… = but she says that… It can also feel like: but she’s saying / she claims… depending on context.
Here ότι is the conjunction that, introducing a clause:
- λέει ότι λήγει αύριο = she says that it expires tomorrow It is not the same as ό,τι (with a comma), which means whatever / anything that.
λήγει is present tense of λήγω (to expire/end). Greek commonly uses the present for scheduled or imminent events:
- λήγει αύριο = it expires tomorrow This is similar to English using present for schedules: It expires tomorrow.
Greek often drops subject pronouns and relies on context. Here, the closest logical thing that can expire is κουπόνι (coupon), so λήγει is understood as:
- (το κουπόνι) λήγει αύριο = the coupon expires tomorrow
Yes, it can move for emphasis. Common options:
- λήγει αύριο (neutral)
- αύριο λήγει (emphasis on tomorrow)
- λέει ότι αύριο λήγει (also possible, slightly more emphatic) Greek word order is flexible, but the neutral placement for time is often near the end.
They matter because Greek uses accent marks to show the stressed syllable, and stress can distinguish words. For example:
- άλλο (stress on first syllable)
- αύριο (stress on first syllable) You should learn the accent with the word, because the stress is part of correct pronunciation (and sometimes meaning).
Yes, but it changes the feel:
- μου έδωσε = natural, neutral gave me
- έδωσε σε μένα = gave to me with emphasis/contrast (e.g., to me, not to you) You can also combine for extra emphasis in some contexts, but it’s not needed here.